1) Draw round your button with a pencil. Cut it out, and trim a few mms around the edge so you end up with a circle slightly smaller than your button. Use this as a template to cut out three or four circles from the felt (you'll need the extra circle if your felt is thin or not very stiff).

2) Place two of the circles at the back of the button, and sew the button onto them using a large needle and a length of embroidery thread.

3) Sew a brooch clasp or safety pin onto the remaining one or two felt circles. Finally, place the back circles (with the clasp) on top of the front circles (with the button at the bottom) and use matching sewing thread to sew all the felt layers together, whip stitching around the edges.

This tutorial is for non-commercial use only. Please feel free to borrow photos if you want to blog about any of my projects but remember to credit me and link back to the original source, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial on your site. Thanks!

Sunday, 28 November 2010

Add some serious sparkle to your gifts by using baubles and bells as gift-toppers!

This is a great way to dress up the plainest of parcels and really make them stand out - the baubles in particular add a real wow factor. And of course, and unlike store-bought gift bows these can be used over and over again to decorate gifts or can be re-used in decorating or crafting afterwards.

For the smaller gift I used 2cm silver bells (currently available in my supplies shop!) and lovely red gingham ribbon for a traditional festive feel. For the larger gift I used sparkly white yarn and a selection of bright plastic Christmas baubles bought from a charity shop. The charity shops near us are full of cheap second hand baubles at this time of year. Buy them in mix-and-match colours and a variety of shapes and sizes.

First tie yarn or ribbon round your gift. I used brown kraft paper for mine (I adore brown paper parcels) but you can use any gift wrap that co-ordinates with your chosen baubles or bells.

Next thread three baubles or bells onto the loose ribbon ends (I think trios work perfectly for this but you can use as many as you like) and tie the ends together and knot them underneath the baubles/bells so they're well secured. Then trim any exess yarn/ribbon and sit back and admire your handiwork!

Please feel free to borrow one or two photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to the original source, and do not reproduce my entire post on your site. Thanks!

Friday, 26 November 2010

I often use yarn instead of ribbon to decorate my gifts, but this year I thought I'd do something slightly different with it and made plaited (braided) ties:

The ties are super-easy to make, and though they do take time you can make lots while watching TV one evening and it's a very relaxing process. They're also a great way to use up leftover yarn from any knitting projects you've been working on during the year, so you can clear out your stash at the same time. If you're not a knitter but really want to give these a try, ask a knitting friend or relative for some of their leftover yarn - if they're anything like me they'll have tons of the stuff in loads of colours.

You can use any colours you fancy, to match your wrapping paper or just some nice colour combinations from the yarn in your stash. I chose festive colours - a red, green and natural brown mix, and a pepperminty red, white and turquoise mix (the white yarn has a slight sparkle to it, which is rather awesome, though it doesn't really show in the photos).

I used three colours per plait, and two strands of double knitting yarn in each colour to make a nice thick plait that's still thin enough to use as a ribbon without any problems.

I found that 100-120cms was about as long as I could cut the yarn before it became unmanagable when plaiting it. Because of this, the ties work best for smaller gifts but you could also use two ties for wrapping a larger present.

Knot the six strands together at one end, plait them until you run out of yarn (not too tight!) and knot them again to secure the plait. Then trim the ends neatly.

I found that my finished plaits were about 20% shorter than the yarn I started with but yours may differ depending how tightly you plait the yarn and how thick it is. It's worth taking a note of this percentage if you can in case you want to make a plait of a certain length and need to calculate how much yarn you'll need.

To use the ties, simply tie them round your gifts like normal ribbons. Knot them simply, or tie the loose ends in a bow.

Please feel free to borrow one or two photos if you want to blog about this project, but remember to credit me and link back to the original source, and do not reproduce my entire tutorial on your site. Thanks!

Thursday, 25 November 2010

Fans of my tutorials will recognise this design - you can learn how to make your own here. But if you've ever wanted to own one without having to do all that cutting and sewing, now's your chance!There's one large mobile in rainbow colours, and a selection of mini mobiles with three butterflies each. They're all available here.

Sunday, 21 November 2010

I always like to include a little handwritten thankyou note with my shop orders, usually on a homemade mini card. I really enjoy making the cards but as my business grows I'm using more each year and finding less and less time to make them...

So this week I ordered a pack of professionally printed cards that I can use instead:

As always, I'm happy to ship internationally, so anyone can enter. Just leave a comment on this blog post saying which goodie bag you'd like to win! (if the two winners pick the same bag it'll be first come first served).

Leave your comment before 10pm on Friday 26th November and I'll pick a winner at random on Saturday 27th.

Please make sure you leave a name or pseudonym (no anonymous comments please!) and be sure to come back to see if you got picked. If I'm unable to contact the winner within 1 week, another will be chosen as I'd like to get the parcels in the post as soon as possible so they'll be sure to arrive by Christmas :)

Monday, 15 November 2010

The new issue of Let's Knit came out on Friday and our knitting group is featured:

When we first set up the club Let's Knit sent us a lovely goodie bag of knitting supplies to get us started - if you're setting up your own group in the UK you can join the Let's Knit Local network HERE.

I've not done much knitting recently (it's so hard to find the time at the moment) but flicking through the projects in the magazine is getting me inspired again, especially the free pattern booklet full of "winter warmers". Please remember to nag me if I don't mention having done some knitting soon!

Saturday, 13 November 2010

Do you like sewing? And are you a fan of Cath Kidston's vintage-inspired designs?

If you answered "yes" to both of those the publication of this book will make you very happy:

Stitch! by Cath Kidston features 30 needlepoint and cross stitch projects using classic Cath Kidston motifs... and there's a free kit included in the book to make the purse shown on the cover.

The book begins with what looks like a pretty comprehensive "how to" guide to the different needlecraft techniques and materials involved in the book, but it's not just aimed at beginners. The projects range from small things like badges and lavender hearts to "labour of love" projects like a rug and a seat cushion, and each project is rated by difficulty.

Motifs include sailboats, cherries, terriers, a cowboy, stripes and spots, a union jack and lots and lots of florals...

As I said before, I think if you're a crafty Cath Kidston fan you'll love this. If you can't stand her, steer clear!

And for the people who're somewhere inbetween?

Well, I'm not the world's biggest Cath Kidston fan by any means but I do like this book. I think that at their best her designs are a great mix of chintzy/traditional and bright/modern, without being either too old fashioned or too trendy, and this book does that very well.

It feels like a fresh introduction to a traditional craft, and though I might not want to make all the projects in it some of them are really, really lovely, and the motifs featured could be adapted for use in all sorts of sewing projects... and (of course) could be sewn in in any colours you fancy.

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Feel free to borrow a photo or two if you're blogging / Pinning / etc my projects but don't repost the tutorials or any templates or patterns. Please always credit me and link back to my blog. Thanks xx

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